Sparkyville, USAEpisode 5: The Fall of Patty Swanson
by HPDrummerman
Summary: In this episode we see what happened to Patty, Violet's former best friend. After a falling out between the two ladies, Patty severs all ties with Violet due to the latter's going too far on a prank to humiliate Charlie Brown back in high school. In the years since, Patty fell on hard times and hasn't talked to anyone. She learns from Linus that Charlie Brown had moved back.
1. Chapter 1

Episode 5: The Fall of Patty Swanson

**CHAPTER 1: HOW THE DOWNFALL BEGAN…**

_(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Most of this episode will be told from Patty's perspective and when she's speaking it will be in italics like this message. Enjoy!)_

_ Never in a million years would I thought I'd be in this predicament. Here I am, Patty Swanson, once one of the popular girls back in school, trying to make ends meet, as a housekeeper for a contract company, working at some corporate building with an evil bitch running it! And yet, it doesn't seem like that long ago that I was once like that, myself. Truth be told, despite my current situation, it could have ended up a lot worse than it is now._

_ For years we teased him and told him how much of a loser he was. How he was wishy-washy, boring, dull, stupid, and anything else we could think of. But now look at him. A soldier in the Marines, and not just any soldier, a sergeant! Needless to say, I'm happy that he proved all of us wrong and did something with his life. He's obviously doing much better than I am. Karma? Maybe. But SHE seems to be doing well, despite being just as guilty as I am, if not more, when it comes to teasing him. But unlike her, I have seen the error of my ways. I am repentant. I AM sorry for how I treated him growing up. And now I'm cleaning her own business! Shit!_

_ I remember the last time we were friendly. We still were best friends and were unstoppable. But then she made a scheme so hurtful, so evil, that even I had my limits!_

_**Eight Years Earlier…**_

Patty was at her locker getting books out for the next class she had. Violet came running up to her. They had still teased Charlie Brown to no end even after being in high school, despite him improving as he got older.

"Patty!" said an eager Violet. "I came up with the scheme to end all schemes against that blockhead Charlie Brown!"

"Ooh let me in on it!" said a giddy Patty.

"Okay, but we need to go somewhere private to talk about it!" And both girls went out to the outdoor courtyard where no students were at that moment.

"Here's the plan," Violet continued. "Frieda is having her big party this weekend. Right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well she invited Charlie Brown. You know, something we'd NEVER do, even to this day."

"Well, to be fair, she's always been friendlier to him than anyone else in our group."

"Anyway, while the party is going on, I had Eileen agree to have him go upstairs to make out with him. You know, that retarded girl, Gertrude, in Special Ed?" Patty gasped. "Well, ol' wishy-washy will THINK he's going to make out with Eileen, but with the lights out, he won't see who he is kissing, and it will be Gertrude, the slow dummy!"

"You wouldn't?!" gasped a shock Patty. "Okay, pranking Charlie Brown is one thing, but what has Gertrude done to deserve this kind of humiliation?! She's innocent in all of this! I don't feel good about this, Violet!"

"Come on, Patty! This is Charlie Brown we're dealing with! The king of the losers! Sparkyville's own royal fool! Besides, that 'tard has harbored a crush on the blockhead for ages to begin with! Think of it as doing both him AND her a favor, and getting laughs at the same time!"

"Well, I don't know…"

"Look, we've been doing things like this to Charlie Brown for years. He should be used to it by now. Just think. He actually may end up with a girlfriend after the party is over. Sure it will start as a prank, but it may end in romance, too. So on one hand, we'd be pulling a prank on the blockhead like we always done, and on the other, we could just help him find love." Patty shook her head at Violet's insane logic. There was no way this would end good. She was content with using exclusion to bully Charlie Brown, but even this didn't sit right with her.

"Just think about it, Patty," Violet finished. "Trust me! We will have some fun at that blockhead's expense!" And Violet went to class laughing all the way.

_ I knew this prank was cruel to both Charlie Brown and to Gertrude. It was then that I gained a conscience, compassion. For the first time in my life, I was wanting to help Charlie Brown, not hurt him. And Eileen was an even bigger bitch than Violet was, so she had no problem with pulling this prank. But there was a silver lining. Violet didn't take into account that Gertrude was a second cousin to one Lucy Van Pelt!_

"WHAT IS SHE GOING TO DO TO MY COUSIN GERTRUDE?!" yelled an upset Lucy.

"She's going to have Eileen trick Charlie Brown into thinking that she likes her," Patty replied, "but place Gertrude in her place, and trick him into thinking it's her, but in reality, it's your cousin."

"Charlie Brown is a blockhead," said Lucy, "but I know he'd never deliberately would try to hurt my cousin. She even kind of likes him. That bitch, Violet, on the other hand… Just wait until I get my hands on her!"

"Wait, Lucy," said Patty, stopping her rage. "Why don't we beat Violet and Eileen at their own game? Let them think the scheme is still a go, but as they're putting it into action, THEN we'll throw a monkey wrench in it!"

"Okay."

"But we will also have to let Charlie Brown know what's going on."

_The night of Frieda's Party_

All of the kids are dancing to the music. Frieda was greeting her guests. Charlie Brown walked in dressed up pretty nice.

"Hi, Charlie Brown," she said, even giving him a friendly kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad you came!"

"Thanks for inviting me, Frieda," Charlie Brown replied. "Looks like the party is in full swing."

"It sure is. Come on in, and enjoy yourself!" And Charlie Brown went inside to enjoy the party. On the other end of the room, Violet, Patty, and Eileen watched him enter.

"There's our quarry!" said a venomous Violet. "Let him enjoy himself for a bit before we put our plan into action."

"Right!" agreed Eileen. "The bloody bastard has no idea what he's in for!" And they continued to watch as Charlie Brown greeted Linus and Schroeder.

A little while later, Charlie was dancing with Peppermint Patty, who pulled him on the dancefloor in her own brash way. That's when the mean girls put their plan into action. Violet had sent Gertrude upstairs to meet "the boy of her dreams" as she put it. Eileen waited until he and the tomboy were done dancing to make her move.

"Well, Chuck, thanks for the dance, you sly dog!" said a happy Peppermint Patty.

"Yeah, no problem!" panted a tired Charlie Brown.

"I'm going to get some punch, Chuck. I'll see you in a bit, okay?" And she left for the punchbowl. Eileen saw that he was alone and made her move.

"Well hello, handsome!" she cooed to the blockhead.

"Eileen?!" said a startled Charlie Brown.

"I have to admit, Charlie Brown, you look nice without that usual shirt with the zig-zag stripe you wear."

"Uh, thanks."

"You know, I never was the nicest to you, was I?"

"Well, neither was Violet, Patty, or Lucy."

"Yeah, but unlike them, I see the quality in you. You can be a winner if you put your mind to it. I can tell. You want to go upstairs to talk some more?"

"S-S-Sure, Eileen!" And he followed the platinum blonde up to the bedroom where Gertrude was waiting. Violet and Patty peered around the corner.

"This is it!" said an excited Violet. "That failure-face will never know what hit him!"

The two kids walked up to a door. "Well, here we are," said Eileen. "Frieda won't mind if we use her room."

"Sure," said Charlie Brown. "And neither will Gertrude!"

"What?!" And Charlie Brown opened the door to show Gertrude waiting on the bed for someone.

"What's g-g-going on h-here?!" said a confused Gertrude.

"I'LL tell you what's going on, Gertrude," said an angry Charlie Brown. "I was once again going to be a victim of one of Violet's pranks against me. Eileen was in on it trying to entice me to come up for a make-out session. But they were going to have me make out with you instead!"

"What?!"

"You were going to be a victim of their scam as much as I was, although I was the main target!" Just then, Violet and Patty ran up the stairs.

"What's happening?" she asked. "Why is Charlie Brown out here instead of in there?!"

"Because I KNEW about your cruel prank, Violet!" said a fuming Charlie Brown. "Pranking me is one thing! I'm used to it, even though I hate it with a passion! But to get a sweet girl like Gertrude in on this awful scheme of yours?! Are you INSANE?!"

"Oh my gosh!" cried Gertrude. "Why would you girls do this to me?!"

"Because they're cruel blockheads, cousin Gertrude!" An angry Lucy and Linus walked in and joined the fray. "Violet, you've done some shitty things to people in the past, but to use my slow cousin?!"

"What is the matter with you?!" asked an angry Linus.

"WAIT A MINUTE!" shouted Violet "How the fuck did ANY of you find out about our prank in the first place?!"

"I told them!" Patty chimed in. "I couldn't in good conscience put poor Gertrude through this. As Charlie Brown said, pranking him is one thing, but to get innocent people involved, especially when they're mentally handicap, that's bad karma, Vi! And I don't want that on my conscience."

"Gertrude, I am sorry that they got you involved in this," said Charlie Brown. "And I am going to prove to everyone here that I, Charlie Brown, can be a classy person. Gertrude, would you like to be my date for the rest of the evening?"

"I-I would l-l-love to, Charlie B-B-Brown!" said a happy Gertrude.

"Even I approve of this," said Lucy. "Have fun, you blockhead, you."

"Thanks, fussbudget," said Charlie Brown, smiling. And the two of them went back downstairs to rejoin the party. Lucy turned her attention to Violet and Eileen.

"And as for you two bitches," she sneered, "which one of you do I kill first?!"

"Lucy, this was all Violet's idea!" pleaded Eileen. "I was just a willing pawn, myself!"

"EILEEN!" shrieked Violet.

"That's all I needed to hear," said Lucy, cracking her knuckles. Pointing to Eileen, she said, "YOU! You can leave this party and not come back for the rest of the night. I will let this slide, but I better not hear that this happened again. **GO!**" And Eileen ran out the house. The Lucy turned her attention to Violet.

"Now, what the fuck am I going to do with you, I wonder?" she sneered. Violet was shaking in her boots.

"Remind me to thank you later, 'friend'!" Violet sneered to Patty.

_I still don't know how Violet got out of a serious beat-down from Lucy. Maybe she did some quick talking, knowing her. But as far as the two of us, it ended our friendship that night._

**NEXT CHAPTER: HARD TIMES**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2: HIGH AND LOW AT THE SAME TIME**

_ Well, after what happened that night at Frieda's party, the close friendship I had with Violet was all but over. Even Eileen wasn't safe from Violet's wrath as she laid into her for selling her out. She even asked to switch desks so she wouldn't be next to me in our classes. It was pretty painful. Soon, I was as much a target of Violet's teasing as Charlie Brown himself was. However, even HE was fighting back. He had finally grown a spine and started dishing it back to her in spades. After graduation I moved out and traveled out west for a year. Something to get away from the negativity of Sparkyville. But as I soon learned, negativity will find you no matter where you are. I got hooked on hard drugs and alcohol, and soon, I was a junkie and a drunk. Soon, fate would intervene…_

_**One year after Graduation…**_

Somewhere in Los Angeles, California, Patty was walking down an alleyway towards a backdoor to an abandoned building downtown. She knocked on the door. A big burly man opened up.

"The fuck you want, Swanson?!" the man growled.

"I need a fix, Mike!" said a gaunt, worn Patty.

"Come in," sighed Mike. And she followed him to a big room filled with folks smoking crack and weed. It was a dope haven. They went past the junkies who were too busy doing their drugs to notice them walking by.

_ I guess I needed something to numb the pain I went through back in Sparkyville after everything that had happened between me and Violet. I thought everyone hated me, even though I didn't participate in her scheme against Charlie Brown; even though I was the one who helped put a stop to it. In my mind I was as hated as Violet. But she didn't make things easier for me, neither._

Soon, Mike opened another door that led to an office. In there was the dope-man named Ice. Ice sold a lot of smack and dope to everyone in town. He was one of the biggest drug kingpins in L.A. and the tri-county region. He even sold to celebrities and big name people.

"Ice," Patty began, "do you have any more stuff?"

"I may, and I may not, Patty baby," sneered Ice. "Question is, do you have the bread, baby?"

"Right here," said Patty. She handed Ice some money. He counted it.

"Shit, you, of all people, should know this is not enough!" said Ice. "This won't even buy you one seed for a marijuana plant! Mike, show Ms. Swanson the door, would ya?"

"Time to split, bitch!" said Mike.

"Wait!" pleaded Patty. "Here! My locket! It's pure gold!"

_ It was the locket I had since I was a kid. The one that had a picture of Violet and I when we were kids and took a trip to Coney Island with her family. Since our friendship was non-existent at that point, I felt I wouldn't miss it._

Ice checked out the locket. He saw the pictures of her and Violet as kids. He asked, "Who's the kids in this? I assume one is you, but who's the other girl?"

"An old friend of mine," said Patty, dryly.

"You still talk?" asked Ice.

"No, not in years."

"Okay, you got a deal." He pulled the pictures out of the locket. "Here, you can have these."

"Throw them away. I don't need them anymore."

"COOOOOOLD BLOODED!" laughed Ice. "Ai-ight! Here's your shit. Just came in, so it's fresh, baby!"

_And I was about to grab my supply so I could finally get my fix, when fate would intervene. It turned out this day was the day that LAPD was about to make a drug bust at Ice's place. It turned out that they had been surveying the place for months. I inadvertently helped their case as they tailed me to his place. And they also caught one of the leaving junkies and they told the cops the whole deal so he could get a lighter charge against him. Ice was tackled before he could fire a shot from his gun. I was pinned and handcuffed. I was scared for my life. Not of the cops, but of Ice as I thought he would think I set this whole thing up and have me killed._

_ When we got to the station, the police interviewed me. I told them I was just a customer buying some stuff and that I wasn't part of the organization. Outside of purchasing it, I had no idea about the inner workings of Ice's crew. I was charged with possession with intent to use. They offered me a deal; testify against Ice or face jail time. I feared both. On one hand, I would stop a drug kingpin, but may have to live my life in Witness Protection, or face jail time and have a criminal record. As luck would have it, some of Ice's crew had started spilling the beans for deals of their own, so one junkie testifying would be the least of Ice's problems, as he would have to deal with members of his gang turning on him. So I agreed to provide my own testimony._

_**Two years after the bust…**_

_ I eventually got clean and sober. I was tired of L.A. and I decided to move back to Sparkyville. I wanted to be close to my parents again and get back on my feet. After I moved back, I stayed with my folks for a while until I was able to get a job and place of my own. When I moved back, I noticed that most of the gang was still around. Pig Pen and Frieda were dating, as were Franklin and Eudora, who was best friends with Sally, Charlie Brown's sister, who was busy with college. Linus and Schroeder were also still there, but Lucy and Rerun were gone. Linus had told me that Rerun was traveling the world, and Lucy was in prison herself serving a sentence for assault and battery. He told me that she had beat up a woman at the high school in an incident involving Schroeder. Looks like she was still chasing him after all this time. But the biggest shock was that Charlie Brown had joined up with the Marines and was at the time living in San Diego. So he was just south of me when I was out in L.A.!_

_ I eventually found a job for a contract janitorial company called Hennepin Cleaners. They hired me and was willing to work with me. The charges from the bust against me had been removed from my record after completing drug treatment. I interviewed with Howard, the manager of the business. He was a nice guy and pretty charming. But this was business, not pleasure._

"Patty," Howard began, "Here at Hennepin Cleaners, we pride ourselves in offering the best service in town. Many of Sparkyville's businesses hire us to clean their buildings. We need you to be at the site ON TIME and ready to work. Can you do that?"

"I can, sir," said Patty.

"Good. We actually have an opening for you at one of our spots. Have you heard of Gray Industries?"

**NEXT CHAPTER: A CHANCE ENCOUNTER**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3: FATE WOULD INTERVENE**

_ Well I started working for Hennepin Cleaners, and my site was, ironically, Gray Industries, the business of the father of my former best friend. I was sure I'd see Violet visit from time to time, though there was still bad blood between us. I planned on not saying anything to her when I did see her. But what I didn't count on was her becoming a COO for the goddamn company! Well I figured unless something would happen majorly, she wouldn't pay any of us janitors attention. I just kept doing my job. She didn't even recognize me. In her defense, I didn't recognize myself, due to the drug and alcohol abuse I endured. So working there, even with Violet in charge, went without incident. But then I saw the interns arrive. And one of those interns was none other than Sally Brown! That's right! Charlie Brown's baby sister! I knew how much hatred Violet had for the entire Brown family. It dated back to when we first started teasing Charlie Brown when we were little kids. I decided to look over Sally, maybe to atone for how I treated her brother in the past._

_ Speaking of Charlie Brown, one day I was in the supermarket buying some groceries for myself when who do I bump into but Linus Van Pelt! He was one of the few to recognize who I was, even after I ravaged my looks due to living fast and hard._

"Patty?!" said a shocked Linus.

"Hi, Linus," said Patty, hiding herself from him and not looking him in the eye.

"It's okay, Patty," assured Linus. "I won't judge you for what you've done. I know about the drug bust back in L.A., it's fine."

"Oh GOD! Everyone in Sparkyville knows about that?!"

"Are you kidding? It was all your bitch of a former best friend could talk about! She had ran into your mother and she told her the sordid details."

"Damn that Violet! And to think I was best friends with such a wicked person. I regret what we'd done to Charlie Brown. If I happen to run into him one day, I will apologize to him for what I've done."

"Well maybe you'll get that second chance. He's moved back. He's working at the Marine recruitment center here in town. He became a staff sergeant for the Corps."

"How about that?! Charlie Brown has proved all of us wrong, including Violet. He's made something of himself."

_And I meant that. The first chance I got I would apologize to Charlie Brown. But for now, I needed to focus on helping his sister get through dealing with Violet. She had been making her get her dry cleaning, and even yelling at her like she used to do to Charlie, himself. I let Sally know through a note that I have her back without revealing my identity. Then today, it happened. Violet found her precious favorite outfit ripped on the sleeve and immediately started blaming poor Sally. She reached her breaking point with Violet. She even dropped that her brother was now a Marine, AND a sergeant to boot. After more arguing, Sally quit interning for Gray Industries. I follow her down to the main floor running down the stairs. By the time I see her again, she's talking to Mr. Gray, himself. I'm sure she's telling him about what Violet's been up to. I decide it's now or never…_

"I can't take your daughter anymore, Mr. Gray!" Sally said with tears in her eyes. "She's not the princess she makes herself out to be to you. She's a monster! She's even threatened to cut off the scholarship you gave me!"

"She doesn't have that authority, Sally," said Grant, obviously concerned and just sinking all of this in. "That being said, I do need proof of any wrongdoing on her part."

Patty walked up to the two of them and made her presence known. "But we DO have it!" she said to the two of them. Sally and Grant gasped at who they saw standing before them.

"YOU!" said a shocked Sally.

"We need to have a serious talk about your 'precious daughter' and how she treats her employees and interns, Mr. Gray," said Patty.

"Patty, how did you even get a job here?!" asked a bewildered Grant.

"I work for Hennepin Cleaners, sir," Patty replied. "We clean your building daily. They have a contract here. I've personally witnessed Violet screaming at Sally about her work and even threatened to cut off her scholarship. She's even had her picking up her dry cleaning."

"WHAT?!" gasped Grant. "That's WASN'T part of your internship, Sally!"

"Well, according to your daughter, it was," sniffed Sally. "She's made my life a living hell! Just like how she used to do to my brother!"

"So, Mr. Gray," Patty continued, "would you want to talk to the employees about how they REALLY like working for Violet?"

_And so it begins. The fall of Patty Swanson had already happened. NOW it is time for the fall of Violet Gray to begin!_

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


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